Latest poll: Latino voters rank jobs and economy as top issues when voting

Latino voters have two main issues on their minds as they cast their votes. According to Latino Decisions political scientist Sylvia Manzano, a new impreMedia/Latino Decisions poll released this morning found 53 percent of Latino registered voters rank jobs and the economy as their main concern, and immigration issues ranked second at 35 percent. In the states of Arizona and North Carolina, however, immigration was ranked first, with the economy a close second.

When Latinos were asked whether government should play a role in making sure Americans have access to health insurance, 66 percent of Latinos said it was the government’s role. On Obamacare, 61 percent of Hispanics say the law should stay in place, and 25 percent think it should be repealed. “To the extent repealing Obamacare was a battle cry for Mitt Romney’s campaign, only 1 out of 4 Latinos agreed with this position,” says Manzano.

In fact, Manzano says that in Massachusetts, which has a system to provide health insurance to all the state’s residents and which was the template for the Affordable Care Act, 76 percent of Latinos support the state’s health insurance system, and 69 percent of Massachusetts Latinos say Obamacare should stay in place.

We will continue to provide information on the latest Latino polls throughout the day.